


Hibiscus

by JollySkydiver



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Dead Portgas D. Ace, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Marineford Arc, Original Character(s), Post-Marineford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22397746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JollySkydiver/pseuds/JollySkydiver
Summary: "Mom... What happened to auntie Rouge?"
Kudos: 26





	Hibiscus

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Uh... This is my first time posting in the One Piece category, and my first time writing about one of my (maaaany) One Piece OCs! I really enjoyed writing about Reine, so I hope you will enjoy it too!
> 
> Sorry if there's some slip-ups, english isn't my first language!
> 
> Thank you for reading! ☆

"Mom... What happened to auntie Rouge?"

Reine just had to ask, didn't she?

It wasn't a weird question, not in the slightest. She always have been close to her aunt. It was only natural that she would question why they couldn't see each other.

But it wasn't a question Mrs. Magnan was willing to answer. That became clear when she began to yell at her daughter so loudly that even the maids started to wonder what was going on.

"Don't you _dare_ to mention _that woman's_ name under our roof! If I caught you saying her name _one more time,_ you will see what I'm gonna do to you!"

When the scolding was finally over, Reine lowered her head, nodded and went upstairs to hide in her room until dinnertime. Now, it isn't like Reine wasn't used to being screamed at. Mrs. Magnan shouted at everyone. At her husband, at the maids, at Marine soldiers, at her daughter... _Especially_ at her daughter.

But this was about auntie Rouge. The woman that basically raised her. The woman that took care of her in the weekdays while her parents were busy with work. The woman that frequently said that Reine was the daughter she never had. And that just disappeared out of the nowhere.

A few months ago, she was excitedly waiting for the time to go back to her auntie's house... Until her mother said that she no longer lived there and that they wouldn't see each other ever again. And that was it. She didn't even wrote a goodbye letter. Reine kept quiet for a while, trying to ignore her sorrow. But the longing was hurting so much. So, so much. If she really wouldn't see her auntie again... She at least wanted to know why. Wherever she was... Why didn't she took Reine away with her? Why did she left her alone?

Twenty months later, in January 1st, her questions were answered. It was around 4AM, way past her bedtime. The adults were having a New Year party in the garden, so Reine thought that it would be okay to go downstairs to get some water... Until she listened to her parents' voices. They weren't screaming at each other, which was enough to catch her eye. She leaned against the door in order to eavesdrop on them.

"Are you sure she's really dead?"

"Of course I'm sure! They personally gave me her testament."

"What did it said?"

"A bunch of bullshit. She said that she forgave me long ago, that she hoped that I would be happy... And that isn't the worst part!" A heavy sound suggested that Mrs. Magnan had just punched the marble balcony. "She had the _audacity_ of writing Reine a letter and sending her a gift! I don't care that she was her aunt! I don't want Reine to have anything to do with that.. That _damn whore_!"

"Well, unless she drags herself out of her grave... She won't be near her." Mr. Magnan coldly laughed. "What did you even do to the testament? Burned it?"

"No, I shoved it in some drawer in the office. We might use this shit someday... I was thinking of buying her house and doing something useful with the terrain, actually..."

Reine didn't heard anything else from the conversation. In fact, she didn't heard anything at all. Even the New Year's fireworks exploding in the distance fell deaf on her ears. She just stood there, tears falling down her face as she firmly grasped the doorknob like she was going to open the door. She wanted to _say something_ to them. But what a seven-years-old could say? They were going to yell at her, and she was going to low her head, nod and run back to her room. Like she always did.

Instead, as silently as she could, Reine went upstairs and opened the office's door. It took a while, but she finally found it, hidden between a bunch of documents. She skipped the testament and went straight to the letter Rouge wrote for her. It was stuck on the top of a little gift box.

_"Hi, my sweet little flower! I hope you're doing okay! If you're reading this... It means that I'm not here anymore. I'm so, so sorry that I had to leave you. But I'm very sick... And I'm afraid I won't be here for much longer. You understand what I mean, don't you? You're a very smart girl."_

Reine strongly nodded, like if Rouge could see her.

_"That's why there are a few things I want you to know. Your mom and your dad won't let me see you anymore because we had a fight. I fell in love with a pirate, and they didn't agreed with it (I can't tell you his name, but I promise you that he was a wonderful man). They got even angrier when I told them I'm going to have a baby. That's why we don't talk anymore. That's why we can't see each other anymore. And I'm so sorry that this happened. I've told you many times, but I love you so, so much. My beautiful Rei."_

At this point, Reine barely could read the letter. Her eyes were blurry with the tears and her hands were shaking.

_"I don't know my baby's name yet, but I really wish you could meet them someday... I hope it's a boy, so you can have a baby brother! I know that you're actually cousins, but like I've told you many times, you're like my daughter. If you ever happen to meet them someday... Tell them you knew me, okay? Again, I'm so sorry I had to leave you... Please, don't let your family hurt you. Promise me that you will be safe. Promise me you're going to be happy."_

"I promise..." The little girl mumbled. "I promise..."

_"I love you, Rei. And I always will. P.S: I've sent you a gift! It isn't real, but a fake one will last longer. I hope you like it!"_

Reine hastily opened the box that was under the letter. It was a hibiscus. A fake hibiscus, but it looked very real. She held it tightly, placed everything exactly where they were, went back to her room and hid the fake flower under a loose board on the wooden floor. Finally, she cried until sleep got the best of her.

She never said anything to her parents. And if they noticed that she read the letter, they didn't mentioned it either. And for the next years, Reine trained to get stronger (as she knew she would abandon her family someday) and tried to search for answers, all in vain. All the information she could gather were either superficial or obvious... But then, she met that marine.

When she was nineteen, her parents were invited to a party hosted by admiral Akainu to celebrate the end of the Marineford war... Which Reine had no idea that happened. Either way, she decided to tag along and go to the celebration. At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary. A typical rich people's party. At least, until the admiral gave a speech and talked about the war. There was a big screen behind him, showing pictures captured by denden mushis. She was barely paying attention, though, way more focused on the chocolate fountain on the table.

"And our biggest victory... Whitebeard's and Portgas D. Ace's death! The end of the Whitebeard pirates, and the end of Gol D. Roger's cursed bloodline!"

Portgas. Portgas D. Rouge. She fell in love with a pirate. The king of the pirates. Gol D. Roger. Portgas D. Ace was her cousin. Her baby brother. Rouge's baby. And he was dead.

_"I really wish you could meet them someday..."_

Reine slowly walked into a corner, sat on an empty couch and covered her face with both hands. It was like she was reliving that night. She could feel the smell of the ink on the paper. She could feel the fake hibiscus against her hands. And, definitely, she could feel the tears soaking her eyes again. He was dead. Rouge's baby was de-

"You're Magnan D. Reine, aren't you?"

She quickly raised her head. Sitting next to her, there was a tall and strong-looking old man. He definitely was some high-ranking marine, judging by the amount of medals in his uniform. Unlike most soldiers in the party, however, he looked extremely exhausted. Yet, he kept talking when Reine didn't answered his question:

"I've heard about you. You're looking for more information on Rouge. You have no reason to trust me, but I know where you can find what you're looking for."

He was right. She didn't had any reason to trust him. But she didn't cared.

"Where?" Her voice was barely audible.

"Search for Silvers Rayleigh. He was Gol D. Roger's right hand man, and he will have answers for all of your questions. He's somewhere in the Grand Line. I don't know where, though. Good luck."

He gave her a heavy pat on the shoulder, and left. The party ended a few hours later (She didn't saw the old man anywhere, though).

As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Magnan went to bed, Reine packed most of her things, including the fake hibiscus gifted by Rouge. After getting a few knives from the kitchen for extra safety, she decided to open the family's locker to get some money... And found something even more valuable. A devil fruit. It was gray, and was banana-shaped. Reine was no idea what it was, but ate it anyway. She stole a few thousands of berries, placed it in her bag and went through the mansion's door for the last time. Then, she stole her father's ship and sailed away.

The Magnan family never saw her again.

Reine founded the Hibiscus Pirates. With the power of the chain-chain fruit and her powerful crewmates, she had one of the fastest pirate ascents ever seen, occupying the spot in the Worst Generation that belonged Marshall D. Teach before he became an Emperor in the span of two years.

And in the end of these two years, she finally found him. Silvers Rayleigh. Casually drinking in a bar in the Sabaody Archipelago. She asked him all the questions she had, and he gave her all the answers she wanted. How Roger met Rouge. What happened to Ace after they died. What happened after Ace died.

When the conversation ended, Reine bowed slightly to Rayleigh, thanked him and left the bar. Her next goal was to find Ace's little brother.

A few weeks later, she sailed to Dressrosa to get supplies. However, when her first mate told her about the "contest" that was going to happen in the Coliseum and what the prize was, she knew she had to join the fight. The flame-flame fruit. Ace's devil fruit. She had to get it. She just had to.

When she realized that Luffy was in the tournament, though... Her determination flaunted. And as she silently followed him around the Coliseum, she witnessed Luffy meeting Sabo again for the first time in years. Both of Ace's brothers were there. For the flame-flame fruit. For Ace. They were his brothers...

And she meant nothing to Ace.

He died without knowing about her existence. And she didn't even knew his name. Didn't even knew that he had died until that stupid admiral said so. Ace was one of the reasons she fought for years, but... He didn't even knew about her.

How could a nobody like her compete with his _actual_ brothers?

With that in mind, she turned around and walked away, heading for the Coliseum's exit. But just as she was about to leave, a hand held her by the shoulder.

"Wait."

It was Sabo, followed closely by Luffy. She lowered her head slightly. The sadness burning strongly in her stomach became even stronger.

"Are you Ace's cousin? Magnan D. Reine?"

She nodded.

"...I have something I want to give you."

Her heart nearly jumped out of the chest when Sabo took Rouge's letter from his pocket.

"How... How did you..."

"I'm from the Revolutionary Army. The Magnan family was... Doing some things we don't approve of, let's put it this way." His smile was painfully awkward. "We've exposed their crimes to the Marine, and once they were arrested, we took a look at their mansion. And I found this. I knew that Ace's mother had a sister, but I didn't knew she saw you as her own."

"I never... I... I never met Ace. Auntie Rouge was already dead when I read the letter, and... When I found out about Ace... It... It was too late... I couldn't... I didn't did anything to help." Her voice was embarrassingly shaky. "I came here for his devil fruit, but... You guys deserve it... Way more than I do. I don't mean anything to Ace..."

A heavy silence echoed on the walls of the Coliseum for a few long seconds. But Luffy, that had been awfully quiet, broke it just as Reine was thinking of running away:

"I'm pretty sure he would've liked to meet you, though."

"Ace really loved his mother, and if she saw you as her daughter... I don't doubt that he would've liked you!" Sabo agreed. "We have some time until the tournament's next round starts... Would you like to join us for a bit?"

Reine slowly raised her head, and smiled weakly as tears ran on her cheeks.

"I would love to."


End file.
